Practice with Love
by Gyaradosmaster
Summary: FFIV2 is fast approaching and everyone's excited for it! Even Midori and Akane can't help, but get into practice mood. However, their practice is interrupted by Shindou and Kirino who want to join in. And we all know how Akane feels about Shindou... How will this work out? ShindouxAkane only!


For those who are familiar with my work, as you can see, I'm not dead. I'll never understand why that's the first thing people think of when someone doesn't update in a really long while. Talk about negative…But f you're new to my work…I actually have nothing special to say to you. I'm sorry.

Ignoring that, I hope you enjoy this Fanfic! There's still not enough Shinkane here and this idea was just begging to be written. Yes, my ideas beg to be written and have individual thoughts, don't yours?

Doing it because it's tradition: I obviously don't own Inazuma Eleven, because let's be honest, I wouldn't be writing this if I would own it.

….

''All right everyone, that's enough for today!'' The enthusiastic voice of Endou rang over the field. It had been a normal training session for Raimon and it was getting little late so Endou thought that it was time to end already. He knew that the team could probably go on for longer, but he didn't want to take any chances with FFIV2 coming up.

''You were all great today!'' Aoi said as the team started to walk out of the field and to the bench to grab their water bottles to rehydrate themselves. ''Especially you Tenma. You were on fire today.'' She said as she handed the water bottle to the said boy who took it with a sheepish grin.

''Thank you. I just get fired up when I think of FFIV2 and all the great soccer that will be played there.''

''You aren't the only one, Captain.'' Tenma turned around to see Sangoku standing there with a smile on his face. Behind him were other members, who were also looking at his direction with small smiles. ''None of us can wait for it to begin and I don't think there's a single person on this field who doesn't dream of participating in it.'' This was followed by a few nods from some of the members and a smile from Tenma. He was about to respond to this when another voice picked up.

''Dreaming doesn't help when only 16 people are going to be selected. There's so many players to choose from and some are way better than us.'' Hayami said negatively. It wasn't unusual for Hayami to be negative, but he did bring up a good point. With only that many members and so many people to choose from, it was obvious that some were going to be outclassed by others. Even if Keshins weren't allowed, Keshin users were still top-class soccer players whose skills should not be underestimated

''Hayami-Senpai…'' Tenma muttered and was about to say something, but he was interrupted again, this time by a different person.

''But your soccer skills aren't the only thing that matters.'' Shindou said as he walked to the middle of the team, catching everyone's attention. ''Your passion and will to play great soccer should also be an important factor in choosing and even if you don't get chosen, you shouldn't feel let down. Instead, you should feel happy for those who are chosen and support the team to the best of your abilities. Besides, rules allow changes to the team between matches so just because you don't get initially chosen, doesn't mean that you won't be chosen later.'' Shindou finished with a small smile that seemed to calm the entire team at least a bit.

''Easy for you to say.'' Kurama muttered under his breath. He didn't doubt his own abilities as a soccer player, but there was no doubt in his mind that Shindou wouldn't be chosen. One could not simply ignore everything Shindou (and especially Tenma) had done to the Raimon Soccer Club and soccer world in general.

Through all of this, everyone seemed to miss a faint clicking noise and a soft giggle coming from nearby. Faint clicking came from a pink camera whenever it took a picture and the giggle came from the girl who was holding the said camera.

''Shin-Sama…'' Akane said dreamily as she hang on to every word he said about the upcoming tournament. This behavior wasn't unusual at all for Akane, but people very rarely paid attention to it. The only one who seemed to be aware of her behavior was Midori, who just sighed at her friend's antics.

''Seriously Akane. What Shindou said wasn't even that cool.'' Midori said, only to receive a glare from Akane. Not that it looked that intimidating since she was still clearly thinking about Shindou.

''I disagree. Shin-Sama says the smartest things.'' She said happily, before snapping another picture. Midori just shook her head and decided to drop the subject and bring up another instead. Arguing about Shindou was something she really didn't want to do with Akane.

''Hey, we're practicing after this, okay?'' Midori asked, wanting to make sure that their plans had stayed the same. To this, Akane gave a warm smile and a nod.

''Yes!''

,,,

''I can't wait to see the defense of world-class teams.'' Kirino said as he and Shindou left the clubhouse. At this point, most of the other team members had already left, either to rest at home or to practice just a little bit by themselves somewhere else. Shindou and Kirino had stayed behind for a bit to talk more about FFIV2 and other soccer-related subjects.

''Me neither. I wonder if Kami No Takuto Fire Illusion can break through the defense.'' Shindou wondered out loud. He didn't want to sound too worried, but it was obvious that Kirino had caught on.

''I wouldn't worry if I were you. Even if it doesn't work, you'll just figure out a new tactic with Tenma.'' Kirino said with a smile and while this made Shindou smile a bit as well, he also looked a little bit confused.

''You're sure that both me and Tenma make the cut?'' Shindou asked and Kirino answered back with a nod. Before he could further explain his answer, Shindou asked another question. ''What about you? Do you believe yourself that you can make the cut?''

Kirino was quiet for a moment, though whether it was because he was thinking or because he was unsure wasn't clear to Shindou.

''Who knows?'' Kirino said while looking over at the soccer field. Shindou was about to ask him to elaborate when he spoke up again. ''Hey, aren't those…'' At this, Shindou turned towards the field and looked towards where Kirino was pointing at. He saw two girls playing on the soccer field and on closer inspection, he recognized the girls as Midori and Akane, their managers.

''C'mon Akane, try harder.''

''O-Okay!''

''Are they playing?'' Shindou wondered and then he saw that Kirino was walking towards the field. ''Kirino? What are you doing?''

''Why don't we join them? It could be fun.'' He simply answered and continued his walk towards the field.

''I suppose you're right.'' Shindou said with a shrug and followed his best friend to the soccer field. As they walked closer, the girl's voices came clearer and they could hear every word they said. What caught Shindou's attention however, were the outfits. They obviously weren't playing in their normal clothes as playing soccer in a skirt wasn't exactly a smart idea. Instead, they were wearing replicas of Raimon outfits that you could buy from most clothing stores. Midori was wearing number 10 while Akane had number 9. At this point, Shindou just thought it was a coincidence.

''Hey girls. Can we join?'' Kirino asked as he walked to the field, clearly surprising the two girls who hadn't expected any company. Midori stopped the ball with her foot and used it to bounce it up to her hand.

''Oh, Kirino and Shindou. Hey.'' Midori said casually, while Akane breathed slowly and was feeling her nervousness rise.

''S-Shin-Sama.'' She said and luckily she had been quiet enough for Shindou not to hear her.

''Hey. So, can we join?'' Kirino asked again.

''Of course you…'' Midori was about to answer positively, but then Akane put her hand on her mouth and pulled her down with her so they were facing away from the two boys. Shindou and Kirino exchanged confused looks, both wondering what's going on.

''They can't! I…I don't want to play with them.'' Akane said nervously while blushing a little.

''You don't want to play with them or you don't want to play with Shindou?'' Midori asked and Akane just went quiet with that question, which was answer enough for Midori. ''C'mon, there's nothing to worry about. They're not going to laugh or judge you. They just want to play around a bit. Nothing too serious.'' Midori said with a comforting smile and while Akane was still nervous about playing with Shindou, she nodded anyway.

''Fine, but you'll do the talking.'' Akane said and Midori had no problem with this. The two straightened up and turned to face the two boys who still looked little confused.

''Everything okay?'' Kirino asked little concerned.

''Yeah, we just needed to clear something up. Anyway, you can join us if you like. It could be interesting.'' Midori said as she passed the ball to Kirino who took it easily. However, instead of giving Kirino time to pass to Shindou, Midori ran towards him, intending to take the ball back.

''Interesting. How long have you two played?'' Kirino asked as he kept control of the ball, struggling somewhat to stop Midori from getting it back

''Ever since our first year here, but it was just something we did for fun. Now with FFIV2 allowing girls to participate, we got fired up as well and started to practice even harder.'' Midori said, and bit her lip as she just barely missed the ball, allowing Kirino to keep it a little while longer.

''Really? Are you planning on participating?'' Kirino asked with genuine confusion. He didn't doubt the girls' soccer skills as Midori was keeping up with him rather well, but they would still need a team in order to be part of the qualifiers.

''Not this year, we don't have a full team yet. We're hoping that next year we would have managed to get enough girls to make a proper team. As of right now, it's just me and Akane with Aoi thinking about it.'' Midori said and then she saw an opening. _''It's mine!'' _She thought and went for it, managing to steal the ball from Kirino and end their scuffle. ''Akane!'' She wasn't planning on giving Kirino a chance to steal the ball back so he back-passed to Akane swiftly.

''Okay!'' Akane yelled back and caught the ball with her right foot. She wasn't sure what to do, but then she saw Shindou approaching and standing in front of her, preventing her from going forward. ''Shin-Sa…Shindou-Kun.'' Akane changed quickly, hoping that Shindou hadn't noticed her slip-up.

''So, what position are you?'' Shindou asked, apparently not having noticed anything wrong with what Akane said.

''Midori is a forward and I'm a midfielder. I would've been a defender, but I'm not good at stealing the ball.'' Akane explained, managing to calm down a little as Shindou was more focused on the game, rather than her.

Shindou would've asked her why, but decided that it wasn't important now. Instead, he focused his efforts in taking the ball away from Akane.

''_Okay, Shin-Sama's planning to take a ball away. In that case…'' _Akane thought and smiled a bit when she saw that Shindou was doing exactly what she thought he would. He was planning a feint so he could take the ball away, but…

''It's mine!'' Shindou yelled as he got in close, sure that he got the ball. Instead, Akane saw through his feint and got past him, immediately passing the ball back to Midori, leaving a confused Shindou behind. ''How…''

Midori took the ball, but instead of having another scuffle with Kirino, she trapped the ball under her right foot and stood triumphantly

''Hey Akane! How about we show these two our Hissatsu techniques?'' Midori asked confidently, surprising both boys and Akane a little.

''You two can do Hissatsu techniques? Really?'' Kirino asked surprised, before he realized how that sentence came out. ''Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I doubt your abilities.''

''It's okay, but Midori…are you sure?'' Akane asked nervously. Her Hissatsu Technique was…well, let's just say that the original user was present here as well.

''Don't worry Akane. It will be fine and I can start.'' Midori said and started to kick the ball to the center of the field. Once there, she faced the goal and smiled.

''A shoot Hissatsu?'' Kirino asked little intrigued.

''Of course. She does want to be the Ace Striker of the team after all.'' Akane said with a small smile.

Midori took in a deep breath before running fast ahead with the ball. She ran faster and faster as her ball kicking got more power to it, until Midori was sure that she was ready. She took one more big dash towards the ball and kicked it. ''Mach Wind!'' She yelled as the ball was surrounded by blue aura and a couple of strong wind currents. Due to the small distance of the striker and the goal, plus the speed of the shot, it reached the goal in a blink of an eye.

''That was great Midori!'' Akane yelled happily while holding her camera, having taken a picture of her shot. Both boys quickly glanced at the girl and the camera, both intrigued by the photos it could have inside, but then looked away. They were more intrigued by Midori knowing that shoot. Meanwhile, Midori walked to the goal and picked the ball up, before bouncing it around with her feet.

''When and how did you learn that?'' Shindou asked as Midori walked towards them confidently.

''Tenma helped me learn it. He helped with the basics and a little bit of technique until I got a hang of it. But enough about me. Akane, show them your Dribble Hissatsu.'' Midori said in an encouraging tone as she passed the ball to Akane, who, due to nervousness, fumbled a bit before getting the ball properly.

''A Dribble Hissatsu? Do you mind if I'll be your opponent?'' Shindou said and immediately, Akane's cheeks flushed pink.

''No!'' She yelled, perhaps a bit forcefully as Shindou was clearly taken aback by her outburst, as was Kirino and Midori. After realizing what she did, she blushed deeper and looked away from Shindou. ''Sorry. It's just that…Kirino-kun's a defender so I thought…maybe I could use it on him?'' Akane finished, although it sounded more like a question than a statement. Before Shindou could question her decision, another voice picked up.

''Sure, I don't mind.'' Kirino said as he walked towards the field. Akane let out a sigh of relief, but even still, she wasn't completely relieved. She wasn't really looking forward to Shindou discovering that she could use his Hissatsu Technique. Meanwhile, Shindou had started to think.

''_Why? Why did she react like that?'' _At this point in time, he couldn't place the reason for her acting. All he could do was watch and see what happens. _''And why did I feel a little bit...hurt?''_

''Are you ready Kirino-Kun?'' Akane asked as the two of them prepared themselves. They were standing close to each other and opposite of each other on the field, goals behind each player. Kirino stood up from checking that his shoelaces were tied correctly and gave Akane a smile and thumbs up.

''Ready!'' Kirino said enthusiastically, eager to find out what move Akane was going to use. Akane sighed deeply before opening her eyes _''Here goes!''_

She walked little closer to Kirino before she kicked the ball around her feet a couple times. At this, Shindou's eyes widened.

''Those movements…'' He said under his breath, but it was still loud enough for Midori to hear, who just smiled.

Meanwhile, Kirino had also realized what was going on, but it was too late. Akane had disappeared from his vision, but she soon appeared in front of him with a small smile on her face.

''Presto Turn!'' Akane yelled out as she passed by Kirino with speed that Kirino couldn't keep up with. As soon as she was past Kirino, she stopped and smiled to herself. ''I did it…''

''Great job Akane!'' Midori yelled, but then she noticed that Shindou had left from her side and was now walking towards Akane, but this did nothing to dampen Midori's mood. Actually, it made her a little bit happier. ''Great job Akane…'' She repeated, but this time in a quieter tone, still with a smile on her face.

''How did you…'' Kirino started to ask, but…

''How did you do that? I never taught you.'' Shindou asked and Akane wasn't sure whether he was impressed or angry with her, but one thing was for certain. She had Shindou's undivided attention and that both excited and terrified her. Kirino stayed behind, figuring that he should keep out of the conversation for now.

''I…well. Why is it a big deal? I mean, Aoyama-kun can use it too.'' Akane said, but that did nothing to change the situation.

''That's because I taught that move to him. I have helped him with it. You on the other hand, I have never taught. Granted, Presto Turn isn't particularly difficult move to pull off, but there's no way you could do it without at least little help from someone who can already use it.'' Shindou said and Akane couldn't help, but feel hurt by that. Midori seemed to notice the hurt look on Akane's face and had to stop herself from going up there and getting Shindou to shut up…and maybe punch him if needed.

At this point, Akane really had no other option than to tell the truth. She would just have to sugarcoat it a little bit. She knew what she does with Shindou could be considered…stalking and she didn't want Shindou to know that she did that. It would pretty much crush whatever small hopes she had of them ever developing a proper relationship.

''Well, I…I o-observed you.'' Akane said with a quiet voice, but it was loud enough for Shindou to hear it. He raised an eyebrow at this, beckoning her to continue. ''I took some pictures and video recordings, and learned from them.'' Akane said, although some was putting it mildly.

''I see.'' Was the only thing Shindou said and he went quiet. Akane wasn't sure on what to think of this silence. She couldn't even say if Shindou was sad or angry and she was usually good at picking up his emotions. Granted, he wasn't the best at hiding them, but that was beside the point. ''Akane.'' This made Akane jump, not having expected him to say her name out of the blue like that.

''Y-Yes?'' Akane said nervously, now blushing as Shindou stared at her. She wanted to look away so Shindou wouldn't see her blushing face, but she just couldn't. Shindou's eyes were just…mesmerizing to her.

''If you managed to learn that move by just observing me, I think you have what it takes to learn another move of mine.'' Shindou said, making Akane blush just a bit more. She couldn't believe the turn this conversation took. Just a while ago it sounded like he didn't believe in her abilities.

''T-Thank you, but I don't think I can learn Fortissimo. It's such a great kick and you look so great when you perform it and…'' Akane eventually shut herself up, already having said too much. Shindou didn't comment on this, even if the compliments did make him feel good.

''I wasn't talking about Fortissimo.'' Shindou said and then with a swift movement stole the ball from Akane. It was easy, since she hadn't expected it at all. Then Shindou turned back around to face Akane, beckoning her to steal the ball from him. She did as he wanted, but just as she was approaching Shindou, he closed his eyes and then put his hands up as if he was praying. This was followed by him starting to emit a shining aura and he put his hands back to his side. ''Olympus Harmony!'' Out of nowhere, a giant building appeared behind Shindou.

''Amazing…'' Akane said with her mouth open. She had only seen this move once before and to actually have it used against her felt like a huge privilege. She only regretted that she didn't have her camera on her right now, as she would've loved to take up-close shots of the move…and Shindou of course. _''He looks so great when he performs that.''_ She thought with a blush on her face, but it soon disappeared as she realized what Shindou was implying. ''Do you…'' Akane started to say, but before she could finish her sentence, Shindou nodded.

''Yes, I'm going to teach you how to perform Olympus Harmony.''

Kirino and Midori shared curious looks at this, both grinning a little.

''_This will be interesting.''_

…

And done! Well, the chapter is, not the story. I think this will be a three-shot…that really sounds stupid. It will be a three-parter. At least, that's the plan. It could be longer or it could be shorter!

Yes I know that me and my updates can and often are awful, but I really enjoyed writing this Fanfic and that usually means I update fast. Besides, the quicker this site gets more Shinkane, the better as far as I am concerned.

Anyway, Review if you liked, review if you didn't like! Also, review if you were indifferent. I…suppose that's possible.


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